Cultivating solutions against climate change in Central America

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) works with Central American governments to promote innovative solutions that support the work, leadership, and knowledge of women and men in preparing, alongside their rural communities, to face climate change, the degradation of natural resources, and limited access to technology and innovation — all key to achieving inclusive rural development, thus strengthening resilience and improving livelihoods.

In Honduras, Pablo Osorto is a farmer from the community of El Castaño, in the municipality of Soledad, where, according to official data, about 78% of the population is engaged in agricultural activities. This locality faces daily threats from extreme weather events, resulting in crop losses and endangering food security for himself, his family, and his community.

To address this situation, Don Pablo, as he is known in the community, contributes to developing of an innovative tool to reduce loss risks and optimize agricultural production: Agricultural Zoning for Climate Risk (ZARC). ZARC analyzes and maps agricultural areas based on their vulnerability to different climate risks. This initiative is promoted by FAO, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), and the Government of Honduras.

Through ZARC, Don Pablo collects essential data on his crops, from soil preparation to harvest, to determine the optimal dates for the next planting, assess success or loss probabilities, calculate water retention after rains, and better understand crop needs — contributing to better production in his community.

In El Salvador, 22-year-old Nubia Fuentes is a community promoter of a project implemented by FAO and financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in Caserío La Peña, eastern region, aimed at proper soil management. Through Farmer Field Schools, she learned to use and maintain a drip irrigation system, allowing her to use water efficiently and diversify her production.

Nubia is a young leader in her community who has inspired many women, who now apply what they have learned in their fields: conservation tillage and maintaining soil cover, building terraces and trenches to promote water infiltration, integrated soil fertility management to retain moisture, and agroforestry systems, among other climate-adapted practices.

In Costa Rica, Michael González is a soil research specialist at the Coffee Institute (ICAFE), passionate about understanding and strengthening the processes sustaining these essential ecosystems, which suffer degradation in 75% of Latin America's soils. In collaboration with FAO, the Global Soil Partnership, the Government, and the private sector, he focuses his work on organic fertilizers that enhance soil carbon storage capacity, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to the fight against climate change.

Through digital soil mapping, Michael and his team measure organic carbon content on farms in Costa Rica to develop statistical models linking environmental variables and soil properties. This facilitates land-use planning decisions, reduces soil degradation, and ensures sustainable agriculture.

Michael’s work strengthens national research, innovation, and technology transfer institutes and goes beyond the lab. He teaches farmers good soil management practices in the field, since healthy soils are key to improving productivity, resilience, food security, and increasing farmers' incomes.